The Marines have landed.
Well, at least one of them has. And he’s landed in Massachusetts, not L.A.
He is Brian Shortsleeve, 52, a trim, fit and energetic former U.S. Marine Corps officer who wants Massachusetts to shape up, which is one of the reasons he is running for governor.
Another is that he believes Democrat Gov. Maura Healey has been a failure, especially over the mishandling of illegal immigration, which is costing the state billions of dollars, money which would be better spent on schools and reducing taxes.
If elected, Shortsleeve would be the first former Marine to hold the office. He wants to bring the hardcore values he learned as a Marine to the Corner Office.
And, as everybody knows, there is no such thing as a former Marine. Marines are lifers. Semper Fi.
A ROTC graduate of Harvard, Shortsleeve joined the Marines and served in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997 as part of the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and then in 1998 in the Persian Gulf.
He returned to studying business at Harvard and became a successful venture capitalist and eventually co-formed his own firm called M33 Growth.
Along the way, he met fellow business-oriented Charlie Baker, who, as governor, appointed Shortsleeve as an MBTA official and later for a short stint as general manager.
While close to the former Republican governor, Shortsleeve said that one of his first acts as governor would be to end the contested MBTA Communities Act, which Baker signed into law in 2021.
“I believe it should be repealed,” he said.
This is the law that has been challenged by cities and towns that require MBTA-served communities to establish multi-family housing units within a half mile of MBTA bus and train terminals, ferries, or subways.
He is also critical of Healey’s handling of the swarm of unvetted illegal immigrants who have flocked to Massachusetts because of its general welfare programs and the skyrocketing costs to taxpayers.
“She has made a lot of decisions that are not good for Massachusetts,” he said.
One of those decisions, Shortsleeve said, is Healey’s insistence on constantly attacking President Donald Trump, no matter the issue, rather than working with him to the benefit of the state.
While no drumbeater for Trump, although he voted for him in 2024, Shortsleeve said he would model his gubernatorial relationship with Trump after that of Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
After Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, softened her ongoing criticism of Trump, the president announced a new fighter mission for the Selfridge National Guard Base in Michigan, which is a major economic driver for the state.
Calling it a “BFD” for the state, Whitmer said she was simply putting the needs of the people of her state over her political interests.
Gov. Healey, who could do the same, has only doubled down on her attacks on Trump. She has never sought a meeting with Trump to discuss Massachusetts issues as Whitmer has. Shortsleeve would change that.
“I would have a seat at the table. I would sit down and get things done,” he said.
“She’s running against Trump. I’m running for the people of Massachusetts,” he said.
Shortsleeve, of Wellesley and Barnstable, is one of two Republicans running for governor, and the opportunity to unseat progressive Gov. Healey in 2026 as she seeks election to a second four-year term.
The other GOP candidate is Michael Kennealy of Lexington, who, like Shortsleeve, served under Baker as Secretary of Housing and Development.
Both seek to follow Baker’s footsteps to become a successful Republican candidate for governor who can win in an overwhelmingly Democratic state.
Which is easier said than done, even for a Marine.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: [email protected]
